BATTLE CREEK MOVES TO CONSOLIDATE SCHOOLS, REDUCE DEFICIT
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — The Battle Creek school board was to have heard a
proposal last Thursday to consolidate buildings as one option to help
relieve the district's $6 million deficit, reported the Battle Creek
Enquirer.

The district's financial problems stem from operating inefficiencies,
according to Assistant Superintendent Kathy Griffey. "What we have at
Battle Creek is a dysfunctional system that's not working for us, but
against us," Griffey told the Enquirer. The current size of schools in
the district is not effective, added Griffey. "We don't have small
schools, we have tiny schools — so tiny they are dysfunctional," she
said. According to district officials, each combination of two schools
into one could save $365,000 per building.

A facilities task force, composed of over 80 community members, will
decide which elementary schools they believe should close or
consolidate. The task force held its first meeting in early February
and has held two public forums since. Parents, students and other
community representatives will be allowed to give their input at a
public meeting on Mar. 17; the district is expected to make its
decision on Mar. 21.

DETROIT SCHOOLS, UNION STRIKE EARLY-RETIREMENT DEAL FOR 200 TEACHERS
DETROIT — Approximately 200 teachers have accepted an early-retirement
deal that was struck between the Detroit school district and the local
school employees' union in a bid to reduce the district's $200 million
deficit, according to the Detroit News.

District and union officials had originally planned to have those
teachers retire during winter break, but an agreement was not completed
in time. Teachers who have accepted the deal will leave at the end of
this month, which some parents called untimely and awkward. "In an
ideal world we would have wanted to time this better ... with a more
natural break," Debra Williams, chief human resources officer of the
Detroit Public Schools, told the News. According to Detroit Federation
of Teachers President Janna Garrison, officials began work on the deal
last May.

The move will save the district an unknown amount, as officials have
not completed final details of the deal. Additionally, district
officials had initially hoped 500 teachers would take advantage of the
deal, but, said Williams, "Even a few million dollars ... in an already
strapped budget, you have to do it."

STATE SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TO ASK FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO EASE STANDARDS
LANSING, Mich. — The State Board of Education voted last week to ask
the federal government to relax standards mandated by the No Child Left
Behind Act in order to keep many Michigan schools off the U.S.
Department of Education's "failing" schools list, reported Booth
Newspapers on Friday.

The board's unanimous vote called on the Education Department to ease
federal requirements for the state of Michigan. Under the current
requirements, 1,444 schools will likely fail to meet federal standards,
up from 861 this year, according to Booth. If the changes are accepted,
just 762 schools will not meet Adequate Yearly Progress, or about 21
percent of schools statewide.

The changes requested by the board include a variability for error in
calculating AYP, adding a provisional status for schools that initially
fail to meet AYP, and altering testing requirements for students in
special education. "For the purposes of meeting AYP, we're going to
give schools the benefit of the doubt," said acting state
Superintendent of Public Instruction Jeremy Hughes.

GRAND RAPIDS COMPANY DONATES $500,000 IN BOOKS TO DISTRICT
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Children's Publishing Division of Frank
Schaffer Publications announced it would donate $500,000 worth of books
and related materials to the Grand Rapids public school district,
reported the Grand Rapids Press.

The company first asked the Grand Rapids Student Advancement Foundation
for a list of books the foundation thought would meet the district's
needs, according to the Press. "We sell things all over the country,
but Grand Rapids is our back yard, and we wanted to help the people
right here," said Children's Publishing Division publisher Gary
Richardson.

The impact of the donation will be noticeable, said Foundation
Executive Director Susan Heartwell. "This is going to have a huge
impact on our classroom literacy efforts," she told the Press. "Almost
every class will be touched in some way by this company's generosity."

GRANHOLM WITHDRAWS PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS
LANSING, Mich. — In a reversal of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's position
staked out earlier this year to eliminate scholarship awards to
students who successfully complete the middle school MEAP tests,
spokeswoman Liz Boyd announced Friday that the administration would
support funding for the scholarships.

According to the Jackson Citizen-Patriot, many parents whose children
had qualified for the scholarships — up to $500 for passing the middle
school MEAP tests — were sent letters that confirm their children would
receive the money. In her earlier statements supporting elimination of
the scholarships, Gov. Granholm said the students who qualified could
not be tracked by the state.

Critics of Granholm's plan to eliminate the scholarship, including some
Republican legislators, told the Citizen-Patriot that her reversal
would be beneficial for Michigan students. Granholm should be applauded
for "deciding to do the right thing when it comes to honoring the
promise made to thousands of hardworking kids in Michigan," said House
Speaker Craig DeRoche, R-Novi.

FORMER GRAND RAPIDS SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS SEEK CHARTER AUTHORIZATIONS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two former Grand Rapids school board members have
formed a charter school management company they hope will obtain
authorization to open competitive schools throughout the city,
according to the Grand Rapids Press.

The company, Classical Education Inc., has been in talks with St. James
Catholic School to consider converting it to a charter school, as the
school is currently struggling, according to the Press. Jeff Steinport,
co-founder of the company, said he believes opening charters would be
beneficial for students in Grand Rapids. "Competition makes everybody
better, so I think we should all look forward to it," said Steinport,
who served one term on the Grand Rapids school board.

Though Grand Rapids Superintendent Bert Bleke questioned the company's
motivation for opening charters, School Board President Dave Allen said
he was not surprised by the move, and welcomed the competitive
challenge. "Bring it on," he told the Press. "We're building a great
school system here in the city of Grand Rapids, and time will bear out
which institution stays and which institution goes away."

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (http://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.